Friday, March 2, 2012

This morning Gus and I were making "Feel Better Cookies" for a fundraiser at Max's school. Everything was going well until we added the flour to the wet ingredients. I helped Gus pour the flour mixture in and then turned my back to do something else. Gus turned the mixer on, but he accidently put it on full blast and flour went everywhere. The kitchen and Gus were covered in white. At first Gus was really upset about it, so naturally I grabbed my camera and snapped photos. I know, I know...I'm a terrible mother...but seriously, it was so funny and I couldn't resist capturing the moment. I wanted him to see that it was okay to laugh about it and to show him that I wasn't mad. I think his first thoughts were that he was going to get hurt by the flying powder and/or he was going to be in trouble. Once he realized that neither of those things were going to happen, he was able to laugh along with me.

Here he is right after it happened. I think he's in shock!

Close-up of his floury face:

You can see the mess it made on the counter as well:

Now he's happy after a towel wipe and a little taste of the dough:

Just a small bit of the mess on the floor. I'm still trying to get it all up. There are little flour footprints all over the house!

This is the first real mishap Gus has had in the kitchen and I'm proud of him for getting through it with a good attitude. There will be many more, certainly, if his passion for cooking continues. I hope I can be an encouragement to him in these situations so that as he grows, he'll know it's okay to make mistakes and that he just needs to clean himself up, learn from his mistake and have a good laugh.

(Apparently laughing at our mistakes is the theme of the day. See post below)

Today is Dr. Seuss' 108th birthday. In honor of the beloved children's author, I sent Max to school in a Star-Bellied Sneetch shirt. For those unfamiliar with Star-Bellied Sneetches, they are characters in his book 'The Sneetches and Other Stories", a Kaetzel family favorite. On the front of the shirt I stenciled a big star:

On the back, I stenciled 'Sneech', yep...Sneech, without the 'T'. Nothing like sending your kid to school in a shirt with a spelling error that is meant to honor a writer. I realized the error before Max left for school, but I let him wear it anyway. Apparently I have no shame.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! Thanks for reminding us that it's okay to laugh at our mistakes.